Migrants to begin moving through region

In this Wednesday, June 18, 2014 photo, Daniel Reyes, 3, from Salvador lies beside his mother, Christina Castellon, in the women's section of a shelter providing temporary refuge to Central American migrants on their way north, in Arriaga, Chiapas State, Mexico. Women and children face additional risks on the journey north. It can be harder for mothers to get their children safely onto moving trains and they have to worry more about them falling once on top. Older children can be conscripted as mules by drug cartels, and women face an ever-present threat of sexual assault. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Associated Press

In this Wednesday, June 18, 2014 photo, Daniel Reyes, 3, from Salvador lies beside his mother, Christina Castellon, in the women's section of a shelter providing temporary refuge to Central American migrants on their way north, in Arriaga, Chiapas State, Mexico. Women and children face additional risks on the journey north. It can be harder for mothers to get their children safely onto moving trains and they have to worry more about them falling once on top. Older children can be conscripted as mules by drug cartels, and women face an ever-present threat of sexual assault. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

These migrants, including large numbers of unaccompanied minors, are coming in part to escape dangerous conditions in their home countries, and in part because of a belief that they will receive amnesty once they set foot on U.S. soil.

Text from ICE on removals:

ICE explainer on why the U.S. does not immediately return to Central America the people who entered the U.S. in South Texas:

The law prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from immediately removing these individuals if they are from countries other than Canada or Mexico. The vast majority of people being encountered in South Texas are from Central American countries. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may issue orders of Expedited Removal or Notices to Appear based on the individual’s ground of inadmissibility. After CBP processes an individual, ICE makes a custody determination. Some individuals are subject to mandatory detention, while others qualify for conditional release on bond, an alternative to detention program, or other form of supervised release. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, these people must be afforded due process until their administrative immigration case is fully adjudicated.

If individuals are issued orders of Expedited Removal, it may still take some time to remove them as DHS may need to work with their home countries to obtain the necessary travel documents. During that time, these individuals are generally transferred to ICE custody as CBP does not have adequate longer-term holding or detention facilities. ICE has worked closely with several countries, including Central American countries, to streamline the process to cut down on ICE detention time.